Human Martial Venerable: Starting from the Synthesis Technique

Chapter 17 The Minister of Agriculture

"It's just a few rumors, you don't need to take it to heart."

That's why I said I've long admired your name. As for how I've long admired you, that's none of your business.

Feng Xiu didn't deny it, he just smiled and was about to explain that the fields were cracked and spring planting was difficult.

But then Huanglong Zhenren solemnly raised his head, a serious look showing beneath his wrinkled eyelids.

"However, I have also heard that Young Master Feng is holding this grand Ganlin Festival in order to pray to Heaven for rain to fall."

He paused, then said with a serious expression, "Although I am not very capable, if I can really help those people and give them a way to survive, I am willing to give it a try."

Feng Xiu was momentarily lost in thought.

He hadn't yet uttered the words he had prepared, such as "the true master's Taoist arts are profound" and "the people are eagerly awaiting his arrival."

Feng Xiu hadn't expected him to be able to summon rain, so he couldn't help but think more highly of him for saying such a thing.

Feng Xiu's smile remained unchanged. "It is a blessing for the people of Qingyan that you have such a heart. We will leave the matter of praying for rain to you."

Master Huanglong quickly stood up and bowed, "I dare not accept such praise, I will do my utmost."

Just then, a muffled thud came from the side.

The two looked in the direction of the sound.

The little girl wearing the black hat had somehow reached the edge of the table, stuffing a flower cake into her mouth with one hand and tremblingly reaching for the teacup on the table with the other.

Her hat was pulled low, obscuring her face, but her cheeks were bulging out, clearly stuffed full.

My arms are too short to reach it.

She leaned forward again, and her body tilted to the side.

"Snapped!"

The cup fell and shattered, spilling tea all over the floor.

Master Huanglong's expression changed, and he stood up abruptly, shouting, "Jiaojiao, you...you child!"

The girl shrank her neck, her face full of resentment, her mouth stuffed with flower cake, and mumbled something unintelligible.

"Please calm down, please calm down." Feng Xiu quickly stood up to smooth things over, glancing at the girl.

The hat covered her face, so her features were not visible; only a section of her fair chin was exposed, covered with crumbs of flower cake.

"Sigh~ It's normal for kids to be greedy." Feng Xiu waved his hand and called out towards the door, "Someone come here."

A maid entered in response.

"Take this young lady downstairs, treat her well, give her a change of clothes, and some snacks and fruit," Feng Xiu instructed.

The maid nodded, walked to the girl's side, bent down and whispered, "Young lady, please come with me."

The girl looked up at her grandfather, then at Feng Xiu, and finally swallowed the food in her mouth, muttering softly, "I'm not full yet."

Upon hearing this, Master Huanglong's eyes widened.

Feng Xiu stopped him, "Go on, go on, come back after you've eaten your fill."

The girl's eyes lit up, and she followed the maid.

"Young Master Feng, please forgive me. It was the old Taoist priest who failed to discipline you properly."

The hall fell silent again. Master Huanglong looked embarrassed and apologized repeatedly.

"You're overthinking it, Master." Feng Xiu invited him to sit down again. "He's just a child. By the way, is there anything else you need to prepare for the rainmaking ritual, Master?"

Master Huanglong composed himself and replied, "This old Taoist needs to set up an altar three zhang high, and prepare five-colored flags, a seven-star sword, yellow paper and cinnabar, sandalwood incense and candles, as well as sacrificial offerings of three kinds of animals."

"All of these have been prepared. They are located in a courtyard of my Feng family in the east of the city. If you are not at ease, you may go and take a look first."

Feng Xiu smiled slightly after hearing what he said.

Master Huanglong was taken aback. "Everything...everything is ready?"

"It's all ready." Feng Xiu nodded. "The Taoist scripture classes that you need have also been arranged. We're just waiting for you to go and make the arrangements."

Master Huanglong was stunned for a long time.

Over the years, every wealthy family I've encountered has been arrogant and domineering.

This is the first time I've seen someone as courteous and efficient as Feng Xiu.

Master Huanglong stood up, his face solemn, and clasped his hands in a respectful gesture. "Young Master Feng has the people's well-being at heart, which I greatly admire. I will do my utmost to pray for rain, praying to Heaven above and helping the people below!"

"You flatter me."

Afterwards, Feng Xiu summoned a steward and instructed him to take Huanglong Zhenren to the east courtyard of the city to inspect the altar materials and coordinate the scripture exchange.

After Master Huanglong left, the hall fell silent.

Feng Xiu sat back down in his chair, picked up his teacup, took a sip, and continued to plan what to do next.

With Huanglong Zhenren here, it's time to set a formal date for the Ganlin Grand Ceremony.

Fan Ling and Lin Che need to inform their families to prepare. They also need to have someone keep an eye on the River Law Office and the government office to see how they react.

As he was lost in thought, Feng Xiu's gaze fell upon the iron hat left behind by the little girl on the table.

The hat is jet black and shaped like a conical hat. The edge of the iron cap is somewhat worn, resembling a cymbal used in rural areas, but the central semi-circular protrusion is larger.

"So heavy?"

Feng Xiu stepped forward and took it.

Instantly, a heavy weight came over me.

Feng Xiu's expression gradually froze, and his brows furrowed slightly.

With his current strength, he could easily lift a stone lock weighing over a hundred pounds with one hand, so why did it feel so heavy to him?

"Are you kidding me?" Feng Xiu asked, his face showing surprise and doubt.

Was that little girl wearing a hat of this weight when she went to steal snacks?

"Not a wandering Taoist priest, a charlatan, or a martial artist who cultivates Taoism?"

The hat that Master Huanglong is wearing is much bigger than this; he must be no ordinary person.

Feng Xiu shook his head, suppressing the thought.

There are many extraordinary people in the folk; perhaps they have their own family martial arts traditions, only their training methods are a bit special.

Just then, footsteps came from outside the door.

"Young Master," Zheng Bo's voice rang out as he entered.

Uncle Zheng pushed open the door and entered, a smile on his face: "The patriarch is back."

Feng Xiu was taken aback, then stood up: "Father's back. Where is he?"

"We've just entered the mansion and are resting in the main hall now."

Feng Xiu nodded and started walking out.

As I walked to the door, I turned back and glanced at the black hat on the table.

"Keep this hat for now," he said to Uncle Zheng, "and return it to him later."

Zheng Bo responded and watched Feng Xiu leave quickly.

In the main hall, Feng Ao sat in the main seat, slowly sipping a bowl of tea. He looked travel-worn, but was in good spirits.

"Father." Feng Xiu bowed as he entered the room.

Feng Ao looked up at him, his gaze lingering on him for a while.

After a few days apart, Feng Xiu had become much darker and more masculine. Just standing there, his back was straight and his eyes were calm.

He was a completely different person from the pale-faced scholar he used to be.

"Sit down." Feng Ao put down his teacup.

Feng Xiu took his seat.

"I've heard about what happened in the city," Feng Ao said bluntly. "The Ganlin Grand Ceremony, the three families joining forces, creating momentum to force the emperor's abdication—were all orchestrated by you?"

"Yes." Feng Xiu nodded.

Then Feng Xiu recounted all the speculations he had made over the past few days.

With the reservoirs closed, grain prices skyrocketed, the River Law Office's attitude was ambiguous, and the government office remained inactive.

All these anomalies point to one possibility: someone is trying to take advantage of the severe drought to force major families to relinquish their profits from the Golden Wheat.

"So I think, instead of passively waiting, we should take the initiative to create momentum." Feng Xiu's tone was clean and crisp. "Let's unite the Fan and Lin families, use the pretext of praying for rain to gather public opinion, and force the government to make a statement."

After hearing this, Feng Ao's lips curled up slightly.

"Not bad," he said, his tone full of admiration. "You know how to use your brain, how to leverage resources, and how to tie the two families together. You're better than your father was back then."

Feng Xiu smiled but didn't reply.

"How's the investigation into Shouzhuo going?"

"I asked Uncle Zhou to investigate. I suspect it's a scheme by the Eight Thousand Generals, a trap set for Shouzhuo. Uncle Zhou has many connections in the martial arts world, so he should have news soon. However, he wants to find a place to settle down right now and doesn't have time for the time being."

During this period, Feng Shouzhou remained the same as before, refusing to eat or drink, and acting as if he were going to die for Su Wantang.

Feng Xiu was also helpless against him. Once the truth came out, he would probably give up.

However, Feng Ao didn't ask too many questions. As long as the Feng family's reputation was preserved, everything else was secondary.

He then asked, "How's your kung fu practice going?"

"The Five Strengths Fist has been mastered, the internal breathing technique has been initially developed, and the body refinement has achieved minor success."

Upon hearing this, Feng Ao's eyes flashed with surprise. He looked Feng Ao up and down, then burst into laughter.

"Good, good." He said "good" twice, his face full of satisfaction. "Old Zhou has a sharp eye and is very good at teaching. You really didn't waste your time practicing."

Feng Xiu's heart skipped a beat, and he seized the opportunity to ask the question he had always wanted to ask, "Father, is it true, as I suspect, that the government is using the drought to force us to abandon the farm, since the reservoirs are not being opened?"

Feng Ao's smile faded, and after a moment of silence, he slowly nodded.

"You guessed right."

"On this trip to buy grain, I encountered several groups of people on the road," Feng Ao said calmly, picking up his teacup. "The Lin family, the Zhou family, and several large and small grain merchants. We were all in the same situation."

Feng Ao paused, turned his gaze to the window, and lowered his voice.

"I also met with the people from the River Law Office half a month ago. They spoke nicely, but what they really meant was that the reservoirs and ponds cannot be opened this year."

Feng Xiu frowned. "What exactly are they trying to do?"

"What do you want? You want us to bow down!"

At this point, Feng Ao smiled coldly, stood up, and walked to the window.

"Golden wheat is only produced here in the entire Yunzhou Plateau. Martial artists in the inland areas cannot do without it if they want to practice their skills or recuperate from injuries. In the past, when the court was at peace, everyone did their own business and no one had any crooked thoughts."

"Things are different now. Jinzhou is in chaos, and there are refugees everywhere. The imperial court can't take care of things here. Some people have started to think that they can use the drought to force us to hand over our farms and tenant villages."

Feng Xiu was shocked; he had already anticipated this outcome.

But hearing it from Feng Ao's mouth still felt incredibly absurd.

If it's truly a case of buying grain at a low price, then the subsequent harvest of golden wheat can only be sold to the Grain Commissioner.

The current situation is that many grain merchant families are completely abandoning the highly profitable farms on which they depend for survival!

To be honest, Feng Xiu really found it hard to understand. You have to know that the grain merchant families in Qingyan Prefecture are not ordinary merchants.

All major grain merchants had an agricultural decree issued by the Liang Grain Commissioner's Office, which was to ensure that they paid the full amount of grain to the government.

Although the token doesn't represent anything, it's still a nominal seventh-rank title.

You, a mere branch of the Grain Commissioner's Office, dare to threaten the foundation of major grain merchants?

That's ruthless!

At that moment, Feng Ao turned around and looked at him with sharp eyes.

To put it bluntly, someone is trying to steal meat from our bowls.